Keegan Murray hasn’t taken his time in the NBA Summer League lightly, making an immediate impact as one of the best rookies in Las Vegas so far.
While some look at the off-season competition in Sin City as a time to have fun, the Kings’ No. 4 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft looked at it as a time to learn, reflect and grow.
Before summer league officially began, Murray set some goals for himself.
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And so far, he’s on the right path to accomplishing them.
“I really wanted to go out here and learn what I really wanted to work on,” Murray told Yahoo Sports NBA reporter Chris Haynes on the “Posted Up with Chris Haynes” podcast. “And I've figured out what I need to work on going into this next month, month and a half [and] going into the season.
“So I think this has been great for me and my confidence, and obviously I’ve done some good things on the court so far. But most importantly I've figured out what I need to work on going into the season and how to get better.”
In the summer league so far, the 21-year-old forward is averaging 21.8 points on 49 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from deep, along with 7.2 rebounds in six games.
He has as many 20-point games as the No. 1 overall draft pick Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren (No. 2), Jabari Smith Jr. (No. 3), Jaden Ivey (No. 5) and Bennedict Mathurin (No. 6) combined.
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"I'm just trying to carry this confidence into the season," Murray said.
And for the Kings, who have missed the playoffs for an NBA-record 16 consecutive seasons, they certainly hope a confident Murray can help end their playoff drought.